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If it turns out these crashes are Windows blue screens, the media will jump all over Microsoft

Well, before all the Microsoft Haters pile on, according to this the Control System in place was something called Cameron Multiplex Control System, which I've also seen referred to as Cameron MUX and CAMITROL. I am not pretending to be an expert in these things, just thought I'd share what little Googling turned up.

In short, it looks pretty unlikely that there's going to be a red hot poker headed toward Redmond over this.

I would add the following few lists to the above.

You're dead wrong (see: Transocean's limitation of liability filing). There is a little known clause, outside of admiralty law practitioners, that allows parties to limit their liability to the value of the vessel after the wreck. For reference, that generally isn't a low of money and it appears from their filing that it's roughly $26M. They are correct that it doesn't protect claims from the Oil Pollution Act but I'd wonder how many incidentals that'll apply to.

So, yes, yes, Transocean and BP, as a successor to liability, are actively working to limit to the claims as much as possible. I won't speculate on the outcome but I'll throw in that I'm glad I never did buy property on the Gulf side of Florida.

For reference: Explaination of the law. There are better sources but that one is publicly available.

Cheers,
    T

P.S. Yes, IAAL and Exxon still hasn't paid for the Valdez accident --consider it...
P.S.S. Sorry for the repost --didn't realized I wasn't logged in.

You're dead wrong (see: Transocean's limitation of liability filing. There is a little known clause, outside of admiralty law practitioners, that allows parties to limit their liability to the value of the vessel after the wreck. For reference, that generally isn't a low of money and it appears from their filing that it's roughly $26M. They are correct that it doesn't protect claims from the Oil Pollution Act but I'd wonder how many incidentals that'll apply to.

So, yes, yes, Transocean and BP, as a successor to liability, are actively working to limit to the claims as much as possible. I won't speculate on the outcome but I'll throw in that I'm glad I never did buy property on the Gulf side of Florida.

For reference: Wikipedia. There are better sources but that one is publicly available.

Cheers,
    T

P.S. Yes, IAAL and Exxon still hasn't paid for the Valdez accident --consider it...

Don't forget that a production rig and a semi-submersible drilling rig are not the same. There's a reason BP never planned to leave the Deepwater Horizon sitting there pumping oil - that's not what it's for. Similarly production rigs are not made for optimal(?) drilling.

The Development Driller III is the semi submersible that BP brought in to drill the first relief well. This was already under contract to BP - but it may have been in use (probably making the contract issues easier, but possibly requiring shutting down another drilling operation safely). Note this is not your "fathers" drilling rig. It was on site on April 27 - about five days after the rig collapsed on April 22. Unless it was close by and not in use (and, obviously, these things are not bought/leased to sit around idle), that's pretty good in my book. Note that, unsurprisingly, BP doesn't have a lot of suitable idle rigs in the Gulf (note that the Mad Dog, for example, isn't suitable -- if nothing else because its rated water depth is inadequate).

Also, getting a less capable rig in two days earlier, for example, would make no sense if that rig would require four days more to drill the relief well (because, for example, it used 93-foot-long stands of pipe rather than 135-foot-long stands of pipe or had longer setup time).

And, how exactly, would you get a semi-sub "anywhere in the world" in 24 hours? The Discoverer Enterprise (which I believe is being used to drill the second relief well) weighs more than 75 million pounds, is 835 feet long, and 418 feet tall. The only way I know to move ANYTHING halfway around the world in less than 24 hours is by air -- and I'm pretty sure this beast won't fit in a First Class seat, let alone a Coach seat. Come to think about it, even the Antonov An-225 comes up a bit short (by about 74.5 million pounds in weight capacity, about 414 feet in height, and at least 560 feet in length). Oh, and since there would be insufficient time to deliver it from land via traditional oceangoing tugs and the An-225 can't land in the ocean (well, at least not more than once), one would have to do an airdrop. Building the world's largest (to put it mildly) parachute to set this the Discoverer Enterprise down at the right place would be challenging to say the least. And, I don't know of any existing rockets that could be successfully used to slow its descent.

Don't forget that a production rig and a semi-submersible drilling rig are not the same. There's a reason BP never planned to leave the Deepwater Horizon sitting there pumping oil - that's not what it's for. Similarly production rigs are not made for optimal(?) drilling.

The Development Driller III is the semi submersible that BP brought in to drill the first relief well. This was already under contract to BP - but it may have been in use (probably making the contract issues easier, but possibly requiring shutting down another drilling operation safely). Note this is not your "fathers" drilling rig. It was on site on April 27 - about five days after the rig collapsed on April 22. Unless it was close by and not in use (and, obviously, these things are not bought/leased to sit around idle), that's pretty good in my book. Note that, unsurprisingly, BP doesn't have a lot of suitable idle rigs in the Gulf (note that the Mad Dog, for example, isn't suitable -- if nothing else because its rated water depth is inadequate).

Also, getting a less capable rig in two days earlier, for example, would make no sense if that rig would require four days more to drill the relief well (because, for example, it used 93-foot-long stands of pipe rather than 135-foot-long stands of pipe or had longer setup time).

And, how exactly, would you get a semi-sub "anywhere in the world" in 24 hours? The Discoverer Enterprise (which I believe is being used to drill the second relief well) weighs more than 75 million pounds, is 835 feet long, and 418 feet tall. The only way I know to move ANYTHING halfway around the world in less than 24 hours is by air -- and I'm pretty sure this beast won't fit in a First Class seat, let alone a Coach seat. Come to think about it, even the Antonov An-225 comes up a bit short (by about 74.5 million pounds in weight capacity, about 414 feet in height, and at least 560 feet in length). Oh, and since there would be insufficient time to deliver it from land via traditional oceangoing tugs and the An-225 can't land in the ocean (well, at least not more than once), one would have to do an airdrop. Building the world's largest (to put it mildly) parachute to set this the Discoverer Enterprise down at the right place would be challenging to say the least. And, I don't know of any existing rockets that could be successfully used to slow its descent.

The article (even summary) claims five foot diameter. This is just plain wrong. The riser pipe spewing oil has an outer diameter of 21 inches, as reported by all credible sources and according to the Transocean Deepwater Horizon rig specs : http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/Deepwater-Horizon-56C17.html?LayoutID=17 .

None of the numbers in this article have any meaning -- it is all uniformed drivel and speculation.

For those really interested in this sort of issue, read the document accessible via the following link. There was a near miss when BP was drilling the Thunder Horse well, and this paper documents how it was handled. We're not talking about a bunch of amateurs here, on the BP side or the Transocean side. That's why this incident needs to be understood - it caught a bunch of very good people by surprise:
NOAA Report

Google cache

Second - OSHA's website has some of the best diagrams:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/oilandgas/well_completion/well_completion.html

Third - the specs from this platform/ship:
http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/Deepwater-Horizon-56C17.html?LayoutID=17 -- check out "Thrusters: 8 x Kamewa rated 7375 hp each, fixed propeller, full 360 deg azimuth"

JGG

Not sure where you got those facts, but it looks to me like they own a 65% interest in the well. While it could be argued that a "working interest" doesn't imply ownership, it pretty much says 'owns' to me. Mitsui owns 10% and Anadarko the remaining 25%.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/30850121/Deepwater-Horizon
RIG Deepwater Horizon rig owner
BP 65% working interest (operator)
APC 25% working interest (operator)
Mitsui 10% working interest (operator)
CAM Manufacturer of blowout preventer (BOP)
HAL Provided cementing services to the rig

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN3011545120100430
"Transocean Ltd (RIGN.S) (RIG.N) - The Zug, Switzerland-based company owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon Rig. The rig went into service in 2001 and was drilling the Macondo prospect about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) - BP hired Transocean's rig at a rate of about $500,000 per day to drill the well. BP is the project's operator and has a 65 percent working interest in the well.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC.N) - The Houston company owns a 25 percent nonoperating interest in the well."

http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/Deepwater-Horizon-56C17.html?LayoutID=17
It was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard, Ulsan, South Korea in 2001.

That should be reserved for Transocean.

http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/Home-1.html

Stock's up today.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=7534c4de-0c21-4653-a06b-112bc96b2708&k=6345

And it looks like some ppl may have a way to get at it now.

400 billion barrels to be exact.

http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/Discoverer_Enterprise-141.html

That was a US team back in 1961 that managed to drill to 183 m below the sea floor, in 3500 m of water off the Mexican coast. From a ship, floating on the ocean surface -- I just find that incredible.

And here we are 44 years later, and that sort of drilling is just the first step in routine operations of the offshore oil natural gas industry. Granted, they don't start in water quite that deep, the current record for oil and gas exploration apparently being 3,051m. The boat that set the record has a stated maximum drill depth of 10,668 m.